The present invention relates to pneumatic pressure regulators, and more specifically to pneumatic pressure regulators for pneumatic guns such as paintball guns.
In the sport of paintball within the last five years, there has been increased use of pressure regulators on paintball guns. Some pressure regulators are used to control unwanted pressure spikes from CO2 bottles and nitrogen systems, thus keeping the pressure entering the pneumatic gun stable. More recently, with the use of better paintball gun valves, pressure regulators have been used to control the velocity of the ejected paintball by directly controlling the input pressure into the pneumatic gun""s valve chamber. Some of the regulators used to control pressure spikes and pressures are inadequate to control velocity directly. One problem has been the lack of alignment adjustment for the air hose that supplies the regulator, which leads to improper arrangement of hoses, and which can become dangerous if the hoses are not properly installed. Some regulators also lack a stable output pressure at pressures lower then 200 psi. With other regulators there is the possibility of damaging the regulator if it is adjusted to regulate 200 psi or lower. This low pressure range has become increasingly important because many new paintball guns operate in a pressure range of 250 psi or less. Yet one other problem is their inability to be easily modified for another purpose. The present invention solves these problems in novel and unobvious ways.
One aspect of the present invention concerns an improved pressure regulator for a pneumatic gun capable of regulating pressures below 200 psi without damaging the regulator.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is a rotatable gas fitting which couples to an external airline. Rotation of the gas fitting permits the external airline to be modified to a shape that is convenient to the user.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to an externally actuatable sliding check valve. The user of the pneumatic gun can slide the check valve to a position in which there is flow communication between two pneumatic components, or slide the valve to another position in which flow from one of the pneumatic components is substantially sealed off.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to a pressure regulator which is externally adjustable by the user of the pneumatic gun.
A further embodiment of the present invention relates to a pressure regulator for a pneumatic gun in which a slidable piston of the regulator is sealed by an o-ring. The o-ring is maintained in a counterbore by a planar member which is trapped between two threadably coupled static members.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention relates to a pressure regulator assembly which is modular, with regulator input bodies and regulator output bodies that adapt a central main pressure regulator to different pneumatic guns.